Benji meets Ben
Two characters narrate Sag Harbor: Benji and Ben. While they may be the same person--just at two different points in their coming of age journey--Benji and Ben are so different that they can hardly recognize each other. Ben consisently expresses puzzlement at Benji's behaviour throughout his narration. In the ending chapter, Benji even explains that he wouldn't be able to recognize a put-together future version of himself, because he doubts he could develop into one. Ben often criticizes Benji's behaviour, even seeming ashamed or dumbfounded at how he could have once been Benji. Ben goes far to distance himself from his past self. He looks back, not through the the rosy lens of nostalgia, but with the microscopic lens of objectivity. He takes a third person perspective, addressing Benji as "the other boy". Yet even with Ben's attempts to seperate from Benji, Ben is kept connected to Benji from several chains through time. In "If I could Pay You L...